The Future Trilogy - The Sacrifice (Book One of a Trilogy)
by Meridian
Summary: This is a story about what you would do to defeat your enemy. || NOTE - This was version 2 of The Sacrifice. I now have version 3 uploaded, so I suggest you read that instead.


The Sacrifice  
Book One of a Trilogy  
By [Meridian][1]

* * *

I that in heill was and gladness,  
Am trublit now with great sickness,  
And feblit with infirmitie: -  
Timor mortis conturbat me.

Our pleasance hear is all vain glory,  
This feuyl world is but transitory,  
The flesh is bruckle, the Feynd is slee: -  
Timor mortis conturbat me.

- Lament  
By Harper

* * *

Prologue - Rachel

I ran through the weeds, barefoot.

Behind me were six Hork-Bajir.

Overhead, I could see a hawk hovering, issuing orders to the Taxxons. It sent another stab of pain through me.

Tobias a Controller.

Cassie captured.

Ax and his wife, Siraki caught in a crossfire on the other side of town.

A crossfire so that Jake and I could escape.

I could hear myself panting, as sharp rocks and thorns pricked my feet.

Then I tripped, and went sprawling, as a large shadow loomed overhead.

Rachel! You're alive!

I rolled over, and saw Marco in gorilla morph.

"Marco!"

Love to chat, he said, but we've got a flight to catch.

"Right," I gasped, trying to breathe.

Then I could hear a voice.

- is probable that she will fight to -

Tobias was still up there.

No. Not Tobias anymore. Had to remember that.

Visser Four.

I jerked myself to my feet, hearing my own gasp of pain as if from a distance.

Then I ran through the ditch right ahead of me.

Marco was right ahead of me.

Then there was the sound of a Dracon Beam, and I fell to the ground.

Marco

_I awoke in the Yeerk Pool._

Rachel was lying limp against one wall of the Ramnonite Box.

And Jake was sitting against the other wall, gasping for air.

I looked at him. "Jake, man? What do we do now?"

He looked up at me, and I flinched at the sight of his bruised face.

He tried to smile, vaguely. "Which one would kick butt, Marco? Batman, or Spiderman?"

Then he_ came toward us, making one wall opaque._

Hello, Marco.

I glared at Tobias. No, not Tobias.

The Yeerk that was using his body without a trace of shame.

He was in hawk form, with Cassie beside him.

Cassie looked at us, and walked over toward Jake, grabbing his wrist.

Jake looked up, expressionless.

Cassie pulled him to his feet, and then_ Jake started fighting._

Cassie's a pretty small woman. Normally, Jake could have beaten her, in less than ten minutes.

_Unfortunately, the Hork-Bajir holding Jake weren't small._

Eventually, they managed to get Jake to the infestation pier.

Rachel too, even though she was unconsious.

And then it was my turn.

Jake, Cassie, and Rachel dragged me down the pier, in spite of all my struggling.

Then they dipped my head into the muck of the Yeerk Pool, roiling with all of the tens of hundreds of slugs.

Chapter One - Leslie

My name is Leslie.

I'm not going to insult your intelligence by making up a last name to go with my first.

Actually, now, I don't have a last name. Nobody here goes by their last name.

Just first. Now, a lot of kids don't even go by their names that their parents gave them. They choose their own names.

But we, in our little gang don't do that. We're civilized. More or less.

Let me explain.

Around, oh, I'd say around eight years ago, Earth was invaded.

Of course, the Yeerks were around for more than fifty years before that, doing a silent invasion, but it was eight years ago that they decided to go all out.

I live in the future. In the year 2023. Approximately twenty-five or twenty-four years before the resistance against the Yeerks started.

So, you ask, what are the Yeerks.

Yeerks are, um, picture a slug. Marguerite showed me one, once in a book.

Anyway, Yeerks are basically slugs that invade people's brains, and take over their bodies.

I know how it sounds. But I swear, it's all true.

The problem with Yeerks, is that they can imitate you flawlessly. And, well, it's a little hard to tell who's on who's side.

Which can be a slight problem in a war.

"Why not?" Marguerite said, and rolled over.

Marguerite's my best friend. She's tall, blond, beautiful, and reckless. Need anymore be said?

"Because!" Jeremy said, with a tone of annoyance.

Jeremy's Marguerite's cousin. He's kinda the one that takes care of all of us. The one who worries about the more mundane things, like our food supplies, and so on.

I guess you could say I _like_ Jeremy. He's sorta cute, in a way, with his dark hair and dark eyes. Cute in a really serious way.

"Because what, Jeremy?" Jesse asked.

If Jeremy is cute in a serious way, then Jesse is the one who's cute in a totally, non-serious way. The two are total opposites.

Jess is the one who's always joking, that can make us laugh, anytime, anywhere.

"Because, we have to get food supplies, not go running off to have fun, you," Jeremy said, adding an extra tone of annoyance to his voice.

The fact that he had momentarily lapsed into a street dialect seemed to annoy him even more.

Lilith didn't say anything. That's the way she is, most of the time.

I guess, growing up in Margot's shadow, that she just learned to keep her mouth shut a lot. She's a year younger than the rest of us, and is always quiet. You know the type, big eyed, with a look that just makes you stick up for her.

And me? I'm the last member of our little gang, with brownish blond hair, and green eyes that are a _little_ too green.

"Come, on, let's go!" Jeremy said, trying to muster up some enthuthiasm for this whole adventure.

And that's how we ended up in a gang fight.

Chapter Two - Jeremy

"So, you're saying that you can beat Dolly's gang, over on Main Street?" Marguerite said in a tone of fake innocence.

Jesse put a little extra swagger into his step. "Of course. I'll simply charm them with the magic of my good looks."

Marguerite cocked an eyebrow. "Right. In other words, you'd scare them into running in the other direction?"

Jesse laughed. "Whatever you say, Margot."

"You're in our territory, Jeremy."

I jerked, and whirled.

"Jason."

"Very astute, Jeremy."

"Shut it, Jason. We're just passing through," Marguerite snapped.

Leslie winced.

Marguerite is not the most diplomatic person on Earth.

"You didn't get our permission, before you were just passing through'."

After Marguerite on the list of top ten non-diplomats is Jesse.

Jesse snorted. "You didn't get our permission before you passed through our territory, last week. Or the week before that."

"I didn't need it. We had that treaty, remember?"

Marguerite gave a tight smile. "That treaty said that those who signed it _didn't_ have to ask permission before passing through others' territory. Which appears to be your point of challenging, is it not?"

Jason gave the exact same tight smile back. "Unfortunately, we can not allow this to occur again. We have signed another, more important treaty with -"

"You're a Controller, you," Lilith broke through with.

It surprised me. Lilith isn't the type to accuse people like that. But she and Leslie are good at figuring out people. Their characters. So if she said Jason was a Controller, he was.

"- Visser One, so unfortunately, we can not allow these incursions into our territory to happen."

"Very astute, _Yeerk_," Marguerite sneered.

Jason sighed, evidently at the end of his patience. He nodded at Dolores, another girl in his gang. "Take them."

"I don't think so, Yeerk," Marguerite said, in a cool tone. "See, to get us to go to the Yeerk Pool, you have to get past us. Through us. And that ain't gonna happen. Not while I'm around, me."

A brief corner of my mind noted that Marguerite was lapsing into the street dialects. Since the Yeerks won, several dialects from English have evolved.

Jesse nodded. "So, you goin' to try to take us?"

Jason took a few steps forward. His gang pressed in behind him.

_Whiine_, went Marguerite's blade, as she snapped it easily out of her sleeve. "You coming, you? Or you be afraid of us?"

Jason let out that annoyed sigh again, and pulled out a Dracon Beam. "Since you appear to be resigned to your fate, I suppose this will be needed."

Leslie moved a little closer to her best friend.

Marguerite let out that taunting, arrogant look, and smiled. "If you're afraid to do hand to hand combat, you . . . ."

Then Jason fired.

Chapter Three - Marguerite

I saw the Dracon Beam fire, come closer and closer to me. My heart let out a nervous bound.

The Dracon Beam seemed to be moving slower and slower, as my jacked up nervous system sped up, in reaction to the tons of adrenaline pumping into my system.

In fact, it wasn't even moving anymore.

I waited for five full seconds while my heart accelerated even more.

"What's happening, it?" Lilith asked.

She tends to use the street dialects more, being younger than the rest of us.

"I dunno, me, but I dinna like it none, me," I said, letting myself relax into the easiest form of English that I knew.

I guess I'm more comfortable with the street dialects than the others, except for maybe Lilith, because I spend so much time on the streets, talking to all the other gangs.

Jeremy looked nervous. "Ya' think it be th' rayak, you?"

Not precisely, Jeremy.

I whirled, looking around for who had said that.

"Ansysith?" Jesse asked.

Now, before I go on, maybe I'd better explain a bit. See, basically, Crayak and the Ellimist are sort of like these two higher dimensional beings who are duking it out. And they both use pawns. Crayak has the Drode and Ansysith, the Ellimist has the, well, who knows who he's using right now.

Ellimist. I have brought you here today to try an experiment.

"Right. Sure. And are you bringing a few tons of oatmeal for the Yeerk Pool?" Jesse said, in a tone of sarcasm.

Actually, no. I wish to see whether you can be trusted with the task of changing a timeline.

"You're what?" I said in a tone of minor outrage.

"Don't we even get any time to, you know, talk it over?" Jeremy asked.

I will give you five minutes to talk it over, as you put it.

"Five minutes? Five freaking minutes? Five minutes to do what? Talk about our travel plans? Don't we even get a say in this?!" Jesse said in a tone of severe outrage.

There was no response.

"Ok, let's settle down to business," Jeremy said.

"Right," I said in a tone of sarcasm. "What business do we have, us? We're about to be plunked, us, in a place where we have no notion of what we're doing, us. We could mess something up, us. The Ellimist can screw himself, him. There is no way that I am -"

"If he wants us to go, there has to be a reason," Leslie said, interrupting my tirade.

Lilith shook her head. "The Ellimist plays games, it."

Her eyes did that thing that they do whenever she starts thinking about something else, misting over.

"The fates play cruel games, them. The fates . . . ."

Time's up.

Suddenly, I wasn't standing in a street surrounded by human-Controllers. I was being whirled back, through time, into another time, another place.

Chapter Four - Lilith

I appeared about one foot above the ground, and immediately fell like a rock.

Bump!

"Ow!" I said, as I hit the ground.

Bump!

Bang!

Bang!

Jesse, Jeremy, and Leslie hit the ground.

Marguerite appeared a second later, looking dazed. Oh, and did I mention the fact that she was about six feet off the ground?

Immediately, she managed to grab onto a tree branch, and dangle there, about five feet off the ground.

She took gymnastics before the invasion.

Margot looked down, and immediately let go of the branches. Naturally, she plummetted five feet down. Naturally, she fell into the thorn bushes directly underneath her.

And naturally, I could hear her saying some _very_ impolite things from inside the thorn bush.

"- mist, why the hell did he -"

Jeremy cut across Margot's voice with a cool, "I think the first thing we have to do is figure out where we are. And -"

Marguerite cut across again. "- ing aliens, dinna have nuff to do thout them, gotta plunk us in -"

"- try to assess our situation."

"Duh," Jesse said. "Why can't we just sit here and moan about what's happening?"

"Fine. I'll assess it for you," Marguerite said, having finally made her way out of the thorn bush. "We're trapped in the middle of Gooberville, and we have no idea what's going on."

"Gooberville?" I asked.

Marguerite gave an older-sister-sigh. "Look, we obviously ain't in Earth, us. You think Earth ever looked so nice?"

She jerked her chin at the trees.

_Wait a second! Trees?!_

There hadn't been no trees, not since Earth was invaded. And no blue sky, either.

Jeremy gave that familiar responsible sigh. "Look, guys. We need to first, try to figure out where we are. And second -"

Suddenly, Leslie cut across Jeremy. "I don't think that's our first priority. We need to find food, things like that. Shelter."

Jeremy nodded. "Ok. First things first. We go on a reconnoitering mission."

I shook my head. "Something's been confusing me. Why would the Ellimist choose us? Us, out of all of the kids on Earth? Why?"

Leslie gave me a little smile. "Maybe because of our parents. Who they were."

Jesse got that attitudal look. "Right. Or maybe he just doesn't have any good taste in kids, him."

"Right now, why the Ellimist chose us is irrelevant. We need to find the necessities," Jeremy snapped, obviously at the end of his patience. 

"Fine!" Marguerite snapped back.

And we started trekking through the woods.

Chapter Five - Jesse

I was doing my best to be as sarcastic as possible.

See, my philosophy in life is, well, do what you gotta do. And complain all the way.

After eight years on the streets, you learn to laugh at all the small things. Cause if you ever give in, and feel sorry for yourself, well, you'll never stop. And that's no way to live. It's easier to laugh at life.

Or at least complain about it.

"What if we tried fitting in?" Lilith said.

That surprised me. She's not really big on volunteering stuff.

"Good idea!" Jeremy said, snapping his fingers. "We can fit into the surroundings, try to infilitrate the towns!"

"Right, Jeremy," Marguerite said in a sarcastic tone. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

She nodded at our clothes.

And for the first time, I saw the others. I mean, truly saw them as a stranger would see them.

Marguerite was still beautiful as ever, but with streaks of dirt and mud across her golden hair. She had stains of some rusty brown stuff on her clothes that I could only hope wasn't blood. And she had a hard look in her eyes, that would never leave, the product of eight years on the streets.

Jeremy's hair was too long and curling behind his ears, and with a shirt that was in tatters. His dark brown eyes had a haunted expression, and he looked as tough as they come.

Leslie's brownish blond hair was tangled into a rough mat, practically falling into her emerald eyes that were a little _too_ intense.

Lilith, well, Lilith had the same long blond hair as her sister, straggly, in a darker shade, and with her wistful eyes and petite frame, her clothes were several sizes larger than her.

And I looked at myself, and I knew that we would never fit into any community.

Jeremy let out a sigh. "Fine. If we make the assumption that we are on Earth, and that Earth is not invaded by the Yeerks, we should be fine."

Leslie shook her head. "That's a big if, Jeremy. I think we should just try to stay undercover until we find out what's happening."

He looked at us. "Ok. We'll see what we can do. But look, I don't think I need to say this again, but if any of us get caught. . . ."

We all looked at each other and nodded. We had agreed, years ago.

If any of us got caught by the Yeerks, we would kill each other before we became slaves.

Chapter Six - Leslie

We were wanderign thorugh the woods, tripping over rocks, and arguing with each other.

Actually, only Marguerite and Jesse were arguing. The rest of us were stumbling along.

We're street kids, used to the open streets. The woods are not places for street kids. As Marguerite pointed out more than once.

"Great. Just great. This day is _so_ unbeliveable wonderful. Not only have I been placed at Dracon Beam point this morning, I have to save the world, and not kill myself. Just great!"

Jesse glared at Marguerite, and tripped over a branch.

"Do you think that it might be physically possible for you to shut up, at least once, you?"

She returned the glare.

Maybe I could shut up if you would keep your mouth shut also!" 

"Shh!" Lilith hissed.

We all quieted down instantly. We could hear voices. Of humans. 

"See, Ax, we used to believe in extra-terrestrial life." 

I understand that. But why are all the extraterrestrial life forms bipedal? 

Oh. Evidently the human was talking to the Andalite. And the Andalite was responding in thoughtspeak.

"We call it the miracle of bad movies, Ax. Bad actors, bad script, and bad makeup." 

But why do you not use holographic technology? 

_Waitasecond! Thoughtspeak?!_

I leaned forward, trying to get a better glance at who was talking.

And I fell over a tree branch, landing directly in front of Visser Eight.

"Visser Eight!" I yelped.

Fwapp!

A tail blade was arched, quivering at my jugular.

Yeerk!

I forced my breathing to slow down.

Breath in. Breath out.

I let my gaze travel up the tail to the Andalite. And to the children behind him.

I felt a chill go down my spine.

Four children. And a hawk.

And one Andalite.

"Y-y-you're the Animorphs!" I stammered out.

Chapter Seven - Jesse

We stared at Leslie.

Then Marguerite stood up, slowly.

"She's not a Controller," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

The boy with dark hair and skin, Marco, for that was who he was, squinted at her.

"How do you know what we are?"

Marguerite gave a slightly mocking smile. "I give you credit for not denying what you are."

Marco looked at her. "I didn't ask you about our credit, I asked you how you knew what we were. And while we're on the topic, how do you know about the Yeerks?"

She looked toward us. "Guys? Want to answer that question?"

Jeremy stood up, cautiously, and motioned the rest of us to stand.

The African girl, Cassie, looked at us. "How many of you are there?"

James took control of the situation. "Just who you see here."

"How do you know about the Yeerks?" Marco asked again.

Marguerite smiled triumphatly. "Let our friend go, first."

Jake nodded at Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. "Let her go, Ax."

Aximili didn't seem happy, but he let her go anyway.

Leslie scrambled to her feet, brushing soil off her clothes.

Jeremy shook his head, as if he was trying to organize his thoughts. "I, I, I, uh, we, um -"

Marguerite gave that mocking smile. "We're from the future."

I grinned. "Yes. How much more clear and concise. How easy to say. We're from the future.' Yes, we could just become some diplomats."

The hawk opened his wings, and then closed them. "That doesn't explain how you know who we are."

"Actually," I said, "yes it does. In _our_ future, the Yeerks win. And you are currently Vissers Eight, Two, Nine, Twelve, Eighteen, and Fifteen. So we know who the Animorphs were. Are."

Marco gave us a suspicious look. "How do we know that we can trust you? You could just be a Controller, and be lying to us."

They are telling the truth.

Six voices spoke at the same time.

"Ellimist!"

Chapter Eight - Lilith

Yes, Ellimist, as you so succintly put it.

Marco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Does this visit have a point, or are you just trying to earn frequent flier miles?"

You, with these children are to attempt a mission regarding timelines. 

Jake looked worried. "So, basically, you want us to try to change a timeline?"

There was no reply.

Cassie glanced at each of us. "But how are we related?"

Jesse choked, and Marguerite started snickering.

Marco stared at them. "What?"

Marguerite continued snickering. "We're related in more ways than you would think."

The Animorphs all stared at each other.

Jesse gave a sardonic grin. "We're not really related by that much. Just by the fact that you're our parents. But don't worry, that's not much."

Jake swiveled. "Wha-a-a-a-t?!"

"I said, you guys are, after all, our parents."

Marco gave a sardonic look that seemed familiar, and yet unfamiliar at the same time. "How do you know?"

Marguerite rolled her eyes. "I think we would know. I mean, _duh_?"

Rachel smiled. "I trust them. Or at least her. She thinks Marco's an idiot, so she can't be too bad."

Cassie was staring at us. "Guys. Look."

She pointed at Marguerite and Rachel.

The two were so alike, they might have been twins. The same long golden hair. Same blue eyes. Same cocky expression.

Tobias gave me a intense stare. You look like Loren. My mother. . . . 

Marco shrugged. "Hey, I guess the old saying is true. Like mother, like daughter."

Chapter Nine – Jeremy

We were sitting in Rachel's living room, waiting for her to find some clothes for Marguerite and Lilith to wear. We'd already stopped by Marco's house for some stuff for us guys to wear, so, as Jesse put it, "we didn't look like we'd just stepped outta a dumpster".

Just then, the door opened, and the girls stepped out.

I stared at the girls. They looked so, well, different. And pretty.

Marguerite is my cousin, or cousin once removed, anyway, so I usually don't think about her that way, but she was pretty in street clothes.

However, in the clothes she was in, she was stunning. To put it mildly.

"What?" Marguerite asked in a light mocking tone. "Not good enough for you?"

Jesse gave a sardonic grin. But I could tell he was startled also. "Nope. Nothing's good enough for us."

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Ok, guys, ready for a while at the mall?"

Marco let out a moan. "The mall? With Xena?"

Marguerite laughed. "Come on. It can't be _that_ bad."   


"Right. Now we get Xena II coming along. You're right. It's not bad. It's a nightmare."   


I stared at the others. All of a sudden, they had changed from tight and suspicious and tough to normal kids. I guess I changed too. But it's just a weird feeling.

I mean, you've gotta realize that we'd never really relaxed since the Yeerks took over.

Cassie turned to us. "What happened?"

Leslie looked at her. "What?"

"When _they_ took over, obviously," Marguerite said. "Not much, really. Earth just got destroyed, most adults became Controllers, and the overlooked kids formed street gangs."

All this she said in a bantering tone.

Marguerite's my cousin, but she still scares me sometimes. Maybe it's that attitude. Or maybe it's that hard look that she gets in her eyes when she talks about the Yeerks, and laughs about roasting them.

Jake stared. "Street gangs?"

Jesse looked confused. "Obviously. What were they going to do, form some condominiums?"

Leslie gave a gentle smile. "See, what happened was this. When the Yeerks took over, they did so because in a mission to the Yeerk Pool, Tobias was infested. They realized that the "Andalite Bandits" were in fact humans, and really attacked. Within twenty-four hours, all the Animorphs except for Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill and Siraki were infested."

Leslie smiled again, a little more bitterly. "Aximili and Siraki committed suicide rather than be infested. And then the full out battle began. A few days later, Marguerite was infested. The Yeerks wanted to use her as a bargaining chip. Rachel escaped from the Yeerks, but she traded her freedom for her daughter's."

"Most adults –"

Chapter Ten – Jesse

_During those years, most of the adults became Controllers. Most children didn't have homes, so they lived on and off of the streets. It was preferable to becoming a Controller._

Some children became Controllers, but adult Controllers were preferred to children. Adults can lift heavier things, and are more dexterous on the manual controls.

So most children either became target practice for the Yeerks, or were given to the low ranking Yeerks.

Those children who survived quickly formed gangs, hunting the streets for food.

We were one of those gangs.

After several years, the English language deteriorated among the gangs, becoming three major dialects.

Now a days, we aren't really into all that freedom bull. See, what matters is staying alive. For that next battle to come.

Waiting, before that final blow from the Hork-Bajir comes, or Dracon Beam fire knocks our heads off.

Waiting.

Even now, we're lucky.

Right after the invasion, there were fifteen of us kids in our gang.

Now, there're only five.

The day after the Yeerks invaded, there were 10 million children running around.

Now, there are only 2 million.

We've been whittled down, little by little.

I can still remember, how Jack screamed, as he was slowly tortured to death by a group of human-Controllers. I can remember cowering in a corner, next to Angela, and Tessie, watching a Hork-Bajir playfully burn holes in Lilith's ragged street clothes, just for the fun of it.

I can remember, how that hard look came into Marguerite's eyes, as she came back to us, from being infested. I can remember, me, how Marguerite killed Yeerks, fighting against them for every day after that.

But we are what we are. What the Yeerks made us into.

Eight years.

Eight years on the streets, and you see things. But not what you want to see.

Eight years on the streets, and you learn things. But not what you want to learn.

Eight years . . . .

"Eight years?" Jake said.

"Eight years," Marguerite confirmed. "And ya know, we'd do anything to stop them. Anything."

"Anything?" Cassie asked. "That's a high price to pay."

Marguerite's voice was cold. "Anything."

Lilith gave a gentle smile, diverting the topic to more gentle topics. "So, where are we staying, tonight?"

Jake looked startled. "Um, uh, Jeremy can sleep at my house, Jesse, Marco, and –"

Rachel broke in. "Cassie was going to sleep over at my house anyway, so all the girls can sleep over, tonight."

"That settles it, doesn't it?" Jeremy said, in a peculiar tone. He was still watching Marguerite.

Jeremy worries about all of us more than he lets on.

And with Margot, it's for a good reason.

Chapter Eleven - Marguerite

I was sitting in a desk, my blond hair trailing down my back.

Mom had braided it for me, but I had yanked it out of the braids. I liked it loose.

Dad said that meant that I was like Mom. Then the two would just look_ at each other._

Leslie was in the desk next to me, and she was talking about some game that her parents had gotten her. I could hear Jeremy and Jesse arguing with each other in the corner about some sports stuff.

"Good morning, children. Today is March 11, 2015 in –"

I was quiet. I felt strange. Like I already knew what was going to happen.

My heart was so slow, each beat seeming to take a lifetime.

"- this afternoon, there will be an exhibit in the library for the third and forth grades to visit. Also, our canned food drive is getting off to an auspicious start –"

Then our teacher gave us a smile, and pulled out a gun. She looked remarkably casual, her brown curls bouncing around her plain face.

Why was everything so slow? It was like I knew what was about to happen, like I'd seen it in a dream, but couldn't quite_ remember the details of the dream._

"Children, come with me."

One of the boys in the class, Russell decided to be stubborn. "Why?"

The teacher looked mildly annoyed, then fired the gun at him.

Russell dissolved in a few seconds, screaming.

I felt a jolt of terror wash through me.

"Now, children, you are coming with me either way. Alive, or dead."

Then, all at once, chaos erupted, and we were all running, trying to get home, away from the teacher.

But unfortunately, the halls were filled with other children who were all panicked.

And I ran and ran, trying to get away.

My eyes flew open.

"You okay?" Rachel asked.

I let my breathing quiet for a second. "Yeah, I'm fine, me."

She stared at me for a second, and I realized that I had lapsed into the street slang.

I licked my lip nervously. "I'm fine. Just a bad dream."

She nodded. "Cool. We've all had our share of that. It's part of being an Animorph."

I laughed, maybe a little nervously. "Right. Just part of being an Animorph."

"Mmumfff," Leslie muttered in her sleep, as she turned over.

She was coiled up, nervously in a ball.

"You guys are pretty nervous when you're asleep," Rachel said.

"Yep. That's in the job description, too.'

"Don't worry about it," Rachel said. "I mean, dreams aren't real. Not anymore."

I smiled back. "Nope. Dreams aren't real."

_Not dreams, anyway,_ I added, mentally. _Just nightmares._

Chapter Twelve – Jeremy

I dug my spoon into my bowl of cereal, trying to muster up some enthusiasm for the sugary stuff.

Jake was sitting across from me. Tom was at my left.

I felt like I was trapped in some crossfire.

Jake was staring at his cereal.

I was staring at my cereal.

And Tom was staring at both of us.

Then he cocked his head to one side. "Say, you two look kinda like each other."

My heart rate exploded.

But to my surprise, I heard my voice say in a calm tone, "I'm from Rachel's side of the family. Rachel was having some slumber party, so Jake said I could stay with him tonight."

"Well, then, how do you two know ea –"

I waited for him to complete the phrase.

He didn't.

Jake stared at me. His eyes were wide.

"Ellimist!" he hissed.

Suddenly, I was in the middle of a gigantic parking lot.

"Ow!" I yelped, as I bruised a leg.

Marguerite appeared a second later, looking startled, then letting out a steady stream of nasty language. I couldn't hear most of it. Probably a good thing.

Marco flickered in, next to me. "What, he couldn't drop us in the Ritz?"

Leslie jolted in. "Ellimist!"

Jesse laughed. "Déjà vu."

"What?" I asked. I was distracted. We all seemed to be here, in this parking lot.

He shook his head. "Duh. Haven't you noticed that we seem to be plunked in all these different places at different times, and then, all, at the same time, saying, Ellimist'?"

He laughed again.

Jake cleared his throat. "Guys, we all stay together, right? We go over to that building, check it out, see when and where we are. And no one, I mean _no one_, goes looking for a fight. Got that, Rachel?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yes, _mom_."

Marco shrugged. "Well, now that _mon general_ there has given us our orders, let's move out."

Chapter Thirteen – Marguerite

I trotted forward, down the hall of the building.

Something wasn't right. I could feel it.

After a couple of years on the streets, you develop a sort of sixth sense that tells you when something's not right. And that sense was going crazy right then.

An announcement on the loudspeaker was beginning.

"Good morning, children. Today is March 11, 2015 at...." 

The words seemed familiar. _Too_ familiar, in fact.

My mind flashed back to the dream I'd had.

Sitting in a desk.

Hearing the loudspeaker say, "- this afternoon, there will be an exhibition in the –"

Jeremy opened his mouth. "Something's not right."

Leslie had a concentrated look on her face. "Something, something seems familiar but –"

The loudspeaker cut her off again.

"- will be an exhibition in the library for the –"

My heart pounded, in my chest, hard.

I jerked my head up to stare at Jeremy.

He was staring back, with glazed eyes.

The announcement was the same. The words. The date. The date . . . .

Jesse's eyes were flashing. "Come on!"

Numbly, I followed him to a kindergarten room.

A little girl was sitting on the floor, her dirty-blond hair in pigtails.

I turned away.

Everything was so slow.

I knew what was happening. What had happened.

What was going to happen.

But I turned away, to another classroom, to see four kids sitting together.

Two boys were arguing with each other.

Both with dark hair, dark eyes.

There was a girl, brownish blond hair cut in bangs, talking to another girl.

And almost involuntarily, against my will, my gaze turned to the last girl.

Small. Petite. Long blond hair. Blue eyes.

"No," I whispered.

But I knew no words of mine could stop what was about to happen.

The death of the girl I had been, as well as the death of the human race.

Chapter Fourteen – Leslie

I glanced wildly around the room.

My heart was pounding.

Lilith was sagging against one of the walls in the hallway.

Jeremy looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

Jesse looked grim.

And Margot, well, Margot was staring off into the blank air.

"So?" Jake said.

I realized that I was panting.

Jeremy turned on Jake.

It was slightly eerie, seeing how alike they looked.

"What?"

His voice went up, then broke.

Jake stared at each of us. "What's the deal with those kids? I mean, they're just regular kids, right?"

He didn't know. He didn't know. _He didn't know._

Marguerite laughed, breaking the silence.

"You don't get it, do you?"

Her laughter was cold.

"You just don't get it, you. _Those kids are us._"

The Animorphs' jaws all dropped.

Marguerite continued laughing.

"And today, they win. _The Yeerks win._ Do you understand, Prince Jake, you?"

I shuddered. Marguerite had apparently snapped.

It was Aximili who broke in.

"But if you are here, and your younger self is there, then that causes a conflict. Flict. Ict. Ct."

Jake turned to Aximili.

"What sort of conflict?"

"You may possibly change the timeline. Line. Then you would cease to exist."

Marguerite was still laughing. "Damn right, Andalite, you. We'd cease to exist, us. Glad you figured the whole thing out, you."

Chapter Fifteen – Jeremy

We all stared at each other for several long seconds that seemed like hours.

Tseeeeww!

Tseeeeww!

The sound of Dracon Beams shattered the silence.

I heard the sound of screaming, and the doors of the classrooms burst open.

Children were running madly away from the teachers. Controllers.

I caught a brief glance of myself, running away, slipping on a damp floor.

My heart was pounding madly.

_Think, Jeremy, think. Where can we go?_

"What do we do?" Marco yelled at me.

I swear, I almost swung a fist at him.

How was I supposed to know what to do?

My heart jerked, several times, irregularly.

Jake spun me around by my shirt sleeve. "Look, Jeremy, you're the one that knows this territory. You want to have a mental breakdown, do it later. Right now, tell us where to go!"

I took a shuddering breath. "The car lot."

Leslie shook her head. "No. We were there, before, us. Could cause a conflict in time, it."

"Ok. The . . . . attic. We stayed there, before, us. Remember, you?"

A Dracon Beam came within inches of hitting me, and I flinched.

"C'mon. We better get movin', us!"

I took off.

The other Animorphs were only a few centimeters behind me.

I was terrified, confused, and mad.

To top that, I had to worry about causing a time conflict, as well as Marguerite's mental health.

I ran.

Chapter Sixteen – Lilith

We were getting the _relion keras_ out of the building, into the parking lot, when a man pointed a Dracon Beam at us.

"Stop!" he yelled.

We skidded to a stop.

He gave a cold smile.

"Come with me."

"Why?" Marguerite asked, in her usual tough way. "Why should we listen to you, you?"

The man let the Dracon Beam drift up toward me.

"Because if you don't, Little Missy here is having her head removed."

I don't know what happened, right then.

All I know is what I said:

"No, Yeerk. I'm not coming with you now, me."

He laughed, then fired the Dracon Beam at me.

Marguerite threw the blade that she always carried in her sleeve at the man.

I ducked.

The Dracon Beam went wild.

And everything happened in a split second.

There was a nice, long, pause.

Then Cassie walked over to the Controller, and checked his pulse.

She turned away. "He's dead."

Marguerite walked over, and retrieved the blade from the man's chest. She wiped the crimson stains off onto the man's shirt.

She put it back into her sleeve.

Then she laughed. "Rot in hell, _voronli_, like the _theoirn_ you are, you. Rot in hell, Yeerk, you."

The other Animorphs stared at her, openmouthed.

Margot shook her head. "Well? Coming or what, you?"

She looked, well, the same on the outside.

But that other side of her was showing up now; the street side that didn't care whether she lived or died as long as her enemy was dead, the side that would do anything for revenge and staying alive.

Chapter Seventeen – Jesse

Eventually, hours later, we found the old attic. We had hid out there, once before, when the Hork-Bajir were on a rampage. Unfortunately for us, Jeremy and Leslie were giving each other these really goopy looks inside, so I opted to go outside.

Marguerite was singing. She actually has a rather good voice, even if her taste in music runs to the depressing.

"He takes the knights into the field,/And arms them under helm and shield,/Victor he is at all melee,/Timor mortis conturbat me."

She paused for a moment before starting the next verse.

"He takes the stanchion in the store,/The captain closeted in the tour,/The lady in bower full of beauty,/Timor mortis conturbat me."

The song is mainly about Death, how it comes to everyone sooner or later.

"He spares no lord for his pittance,/No clerk for his intelligence,/His awful strike may no man flee,/Timor mortis conturbat me."

She stopped singing, and turned to face me. "What?"

"Just listening, I guess."

"Ah."

Marguerite waited. She knew there was more.

"Listen, Marguerite, I wanted to ask you a question. Today, when we were there, and you threw the knife at the Controller, how do you deal with times like those?"

She looked up at the stars. "I guess, well, I just do those things, me. You know 'bout World War II? With the kamikaze and all, it?"

"Yeah, I think. I never really understood why someone would want to do that. You know, kill themselves for their country."

I saw a strangely gentle smile cross her face. "Not for their country. For the idea they believed in, them. Like you want freedom more than anything, right?"

"Yeah."

"So would you be willing to kill yourself for that, you?" 

"Would you?" I countered.

"I guess, me. Like the song says, it. _His awful strike may no man flee._' You can't escape from death, you. I mean, I'm gonna die, sooner or later, me. And freedom is the most precious thing of all, it. I'd give anything for freedom, me. Even my life, it. So compared to that, killing someone is nothing, it."

She turned, and looked directly at me. "Think about it, Jesse, you."

Then she went in.

I thought about it for a little while. But those things are hard questions. I'm not a philosopher, or a scientist. I'm just a joker. So I shoved the questions in the back of my head, and went inside, and laughed, and joked with Jeremy.

Chapter Eighteen – Leslie

The next morning, we were out, in the middle of the street, foraging for food.

We were in front of a convenience store, when Marguerite stopped. She nodded at the plate glass window.

"Well?"

Jake stared at her. "Are you suggesting we –"

Before he could continue his sentence, Marguerite simply did an impossibly high kick into the window, sending shards of glass everywhere.

She cocked her head at me. "Well?"

Jesse laughed. "Real subtle, Margot. Real subtle, you."

Actually, he didn't say that. He said it in _Rilnan_, which is one of the street dialects.

So what really came out was more like, "Rlin sut'le, Margot. Rlin sut'le, ya."

The other Animorphs stared at him, so I relented, and translated for them.

Marguerite easily vaulted into the store, and the rest of us were a few feet behind her.

"Hello."

I jerked, and whirled.

Then I felt a little silly for reacting so sharply.

It was a little girl, giving me a sweet smile.

She looked at me, blond hair falling across blue eyes. "My name's Marguerite."

I laughed. "Hello, Marguerite."

But something about that tickled at my mind.

Too many Marguerites.

Then Maggie saw Ax, and her face froze.

"Andalite!" she gasped.

Before I could blink an eye, she had a Dracon Beam out, pointed at Ax.

Then I heard another voice, the same, but calmer and older.

"Don't even think about it, _Yeerk_. Drop it!"

Marguerite.

The younger one dropped the Dracon Beam out of reflex, and turned, eyes wide to my sister.

Chapter Nineteen - Lilith

The Controller Marguerite laughed. "You can't do anything to me, cause it'll affect you. But I can do something to you."

Marguerite straightened. I heard the strain that always came out in her voice under pressure. "Right, Marguerite, you. I can't do nothing to you, me."

A part of my brain noted that whenever she was under stress, her voice got that street dialect.

Then she continued. "Of course, I could hurt you a little, you. I don't particularly think that that would affect the timeline, it."

Jake, Rachel, Marco, Aximili, Tobias, and Cassie all recoiled at the sound of her voice. It was dripping with hatred and fury.

Marguerite added something in a quick string of _Kryrina_, another dialect.

To the Animorphs, it sounded like, "Ginna ketch thy ya, Yeerk. Ya be ded he'r ya, ya?"

Roughly translated, it would mean something to the effect of, "Going to catch you dead now, Yeerk. You be dead here, yes, yes?"

Jeremy tossed me a worried look.

We all stared at each other.

I bit my lip. We had to try, at least.

And if anyone had any pull over Marguerite, it was me.

"Marguerite?"

"Lilith. Shut. Up."

I felt a chill go down my spine. Sure, we've all turned a bit tough on the streets. Sure, we've all had to kill once or twice to stay alive.

But Marguerite is the one who's the toughest of us all.

And the way she was right now, she could kill the Controller her.

Which would affect the timeline in multiple ways.

The Controller her gave a smile. "Well, come on. Kill me."

Marguerite gave the exact same smile back.

"Of course."

Then she easily and gracefully snapped a knife out of her sleeve.

_Whhhiiiinnneee_, went the blade.

Jeremy looked at me, and shook his head.

I could tell what he was trying to say to me.

_Leave her alone. She's out of control._

And I felt that chill go down my spine again.

Out of control.

Chapter Twenty – Jeremy

We all stared at each other. I found myself wondering if Marguerite was totally insane, when Jesse tried to take control.

"Margot. Listen to me."

Marguerite's voice lashed out at him. "Jesse, shut up!"

His voice was calm. "Marguerite, listen to me."

Jesse's tone was cautious, but firm, the kind of tone you'd use on a rabid dog.

He continued. "Look, just go and cool off for a few minutes. You're too close to the situation to be objective. Jeremy and I will deal with it. Go."

Marguerite wheeled on him. Her eyes were blazing, and for a few seconds, I felt a stab of fear for Jesse.

But miraculously, she did it. She backed down.

She took one step back from her younger self.

Jesse turned to the little girl. "Go, now, Yeerk. I spared your miserable life this time. I won't next time."

The little girl laughed. "Right, Jesse. I'm sure you will."

Then she walked off, swaggering in the characteristic Yeerk way.

Marguerite turned on Jesse. "You just let a Yeerk go free."

Her tone was dull.

I gave her a pitying look. "Margot . . . ."

She started laughing. "You just let a Yeerk go free. Free! Free to go!"

Leslie tried to take over. "Marguerite, if that Yeerk had been killed, you'd be dead."

She laughed again, harshly. "Do you think that matters to me? Do you think that I care whether I die or not, me? The Yeerk would have been dead, it. And it's host, it. Death is better than being a slave, it. Do you think my life matters at all, it?"

Then she said something rapidly in _Kyrina_, yet again.

"T'nt be na lrta si srla, it. Dinna do naught, you. Lt'a Yeerk l've ve, it. Kirl Yeerks, them. Na mat'r w'ht tis akes, it."

My cousin turned on her heel, and started walking off in the opposite direction as the Controller, silently.

Leslie and Lilith reached out to stop her.

I shook my head. "No. Let her go."

"What did she say?"

I turned toward Cassie. I smiled, a little sadly.

"She said, There isn't a reason to live if you're a Controller. You didn't do anything, you. You left a Yeerk alive, it. Kill all of the Yeerks, them. No matter what it takes, it.'"

A tingle went down my spine.

Did my cousin really mean that? That she would kill all the Yeerks, no matter what it took?

I shoved the thought out of my mind.

That was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made.

Chapter Twenty-One – Marguerite

I ran along the street, feeling each graceful stride go up through my legs.

I felt like I was going to explode.

Each of these mood swings was leaving me more and more confused.

Paradoxes.

I licked my lips, nervously.

And suddenly, I was hovering in mid-air.

There was a lovely blue-green light surrounding me.

I looked down at myself.

I was, well, my normal self in my normal street clothes.

But opposite me, mirrored, I could see another girl.

Me, also. But with different clothes.

Perfectly combed golden hair. Sapphire eyes. Clean clothes, fitting her perfectly.

I licked my lips again.

The girl opposite me did the exact same thing.

I cocked my head. So did my copy.

I reached out a hand toward her, until our hands were touching. When I went beyond that, my hand simply curved back toward me.

"What the hell is going on here, it?" I said in more wonder than fury.

A simple paradox, Marguerite.

I said something extremely impolite.

Then: "Why me? Why the hell did you have to choose me, you? And while we're on the topic, it, why am I staring at a copy of me, me?!"

You have more power than you think, Marguerite.

I took a deep breath, trying to control myself. "So, what the hell _do_ you want. it?"

There was some laughter. Have you noticed your propensity toward that term? And the question is not what _I_ want. It's what _you_ want.

"That's bull, it. You just want to play games with me, you. Like all the rest of your kind, them. That's what you want, you, isn't it, it."

The Ellimist suddenly solidified in front of me, as the other me. When he spoke, he spoke with my voice.

"No, Marguerite. That is not my intention at all."

I laughed harshly. "Then what is your intention, it?"

"Crayak and I have made a deal. You, are one of the conditions of that deal."

I laughed again. "So I'm just your pawn, me?"

I, or at least the other me, smiled. "Pawn or not, you play an important role in this game."

Suddenly I was lifted into another dimension, where I could see what the Ellimist saw.

Suddenly, I had a flash of clarity, when I realized what was going to happen. What had already happened.

If the Controller me died, Rachel would never give up her freedom for her daughter. Therefore, she would free herself and the other Animorphs from the Yeerks. And the Yeerks would lose the battle.

I felt the weight of what I had to do weighing me down. I knew, all too well, what would happen if I didn't do it.

Chapter Twenty-Two – Marguerite

The Ellimist had told the truth. I did play an important part in this game.

I held all of the possibilities in the palm of my hand.

If I killed that younger me, I would never have grown older, and thus, I would die. If I didn't, the Yeerks would win.

Simple. Elegant. Effective.

Like a game of chess.

"So you want me to do this, this thing, me, so that the Yeerks will lose, them?!" I shrieked at the Ellimist.

I had to stay angry. With anger, I didn't have to think about what he had just asked me to do. Anger was safe.

I'm not good at manipulating people. I prefer open battle. Anger is safer than manipulation.

And I heard his calm reply.

My race does not interfere in the matters of your kind. All I can say is this.

Once before, before you were born, I asked your grandfather to make a choice much like this. Do you know what his name was?

"Elfangor," I said, suddenly calm. "Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul."

Yes. I asked him to make a choice. He made the correct choice. What I am asking you, today, is can you make the right choice?

Can you make the correct choice, Marguerite, even at the price of everything you love?

Chapter Twenty-Three – Marguerite

Earlier, I had said that all Yeerks should be dead.

Now, I picked that statement apart mentally.

Did I really mean that? That I would do anything to make them all dead?

I felt like I was going to explode.

"R'ln s'tle, g'wn ln'g l'k thee, ya," I muttered.

Literally translated, it means, "Really subtle, going along like this, you."

If you translate it fully into English, it's more like, "Really subtle, going on like this."

Jesse had said that earlier.

Of course, it was in a different dialect, but still. . . .

I closed my eyes, and tried to focus.

Ya know, in all the novels, people don't worry about stuff like this. They just make a snap decision. Like, oh, I'll die, but I don't care, so I'll sacrifice my life for my country.

And then they become heroes.

But I'm not a hero.

I thought of the trust that the others gave me. That I would always do what was right for the gang. Well, I was doing what was right, right now.

And then I made my decision.

I mean, after all, like the song goes, "_His awful strike may no man flee_."

Well, I'm in for that strike now.

I looked upwards, and tried to smile grimly. "I'm in."

What is possible, will now be impossible. What was impossible, will now be possible. I said those words once to Elfangor. And to your father, Tobias, I told him that he was a beginning. A point on which an entire time line may turn.

You are much the same, Marguerite, daughter of Tobias and Rachel, Animorph. You too, are a point on which an entire time line may turn. 

I guess I should have felt calm, or whatever. I mean, in all the books, the heroes are calm as they go on a suicide mission.

But I'm not a hero. I'm me. I'm human. 

And well, all the heroes have to start somewhere.

Chapter Twenty-Four – Jesse

I ran along the street, dodging a swipe from a Hork-Bajir.

We'd thought we could win this fight.

We were fools.

I'd seen everything.

The way Jake could move, lithe and deadly, the way Rachel could swipe at a Hork-Bajir, and knock it down. The way Marco could punch a Taxxon, make it explode, Cassie ripping the throat out of a Hork-Bajir, and Tobias, raking people's faces.

I tried to sit down, and my knees collapsed, leaving me in a heap on the ground.

Suddenly, I saw Marguerite, running out of an alley. She was holding a Dracon Beam. God knows where she'd gotten it from.

She sprinted over toward me, and kneeled down.

"Jess. I'm sorry, me."

I stared at her. "About what? Earlier? Don't worry about it –"

She cut me off. "No. It's not, it. Look, remember what I told you earlier, me, about the kamikaze, it?"

I nodded, slowly. "Yeah. What does that have to do with now?"

Marguerite gave me a smile that seemed to be happy, terrified, sad, peaceful, and mildly arrogant, all at the same time.

"I can't explain it to you now. But I'm sorry, for –"

Marguerite stiffened, as she caught a glimpse of her younger self.

She was immediately on her feet and moving.

"Hello, Marguerite."

The Controller-Marguerite whirled, to face her.

"Hello, Marguerite."

Marguerite aimed her Dracon Beam at her younger self.

The Controller gave an unpleasant smile.

"If you fire that, you'll die also."

Marguerite laughed. "Yes. I know. But if I kill you, my friends will live."

She turned toward me for a brief second, and I saw something like a gentle calm in her eyes.

It was strangely eerie. I hadn't seen that kind of calm in her eyes for years. Jeremy, Leslie, and Lilith pressed in behind me.

All of the Animorphs seemed to be there.

Then she raised her head higher, and pulled the trigger.

The Controller fell to the ground.

And Marguerite began to dissolve.

As her molecules swirled and disappeared, she turned to us.

"Guys. I had to. What was possible, is now impossible. What was impossible . . . . "

She dissipated completely.

I knew what she had said was important. But I couldn't understand. Couldn't.

Then everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-Five – Lilith

I opened my eyes.

I was in a room.

There was a pink, frilled bedspread, and a poster advertising some music band.

"Waitasecond!" I yelped. I didn't live in a room with a pink, frilled bedspread, and I most certainly did not listen to music bands, since they had all been made into Controllers.

I yanked a shirt and a pair of jeans on, then ran down the stairs.

"Hello, dear."

"Hi, mom," I said without a thought.

Mom?

I turned to face the woman I called "mom", and staggered back.

"Rachel?!"

She stared at me. "Yes, Lilith?"

"Where's Marguerite? What happened? Is she dead? Why are you an adult? Where's Marg –"

Rachel stared at me with increasing alarm. "You remember all that?"

Just then, the phone rang, and Tobias/Dad answered it.

"Hello? Oh, hey, Marco. What? Jesse remembers?"

Rachel/Mom ran over, and picked up the extension.

"Marco, Rachel here. Lilith remembers, also. I'm driving her over. Call a meeting at your house. Yes. Bye."

Rachel turned to face me. "Lilith, get in the car. We're heading to Marco's house."

I didn't ask any questions.

That car ride was probably _the_ longest ride I'll ever have had in all of time.

When we got to Marco's house, Marco waved us in, silently.

Jeremy was sitting up straight in a chair. Leslie was slumped, red-eyed, next to him. And Jesse, well, Jesse was curled on the window seat. I had seen him like that, hundreds, if not thousands of times.

When I entered the room, he turned toward, me, and I had to repress a shudder. His eyes were empty. Flat. No spirit.

We'd lost Marguerite. And now we were losing Jesse.

I don't know how I knew that Marguerite was dead. I just knew.

Ax turned toward me. "Marguerite annihilated herself, or rather, her younger self in the past. When she did that, she no longer existed. But in killing herself, the Ellimist fulfilled his end of the bargain. And thus the Yeerks lost, and Earth does not know about the Yeerks."

I looked out the window again. Earth. Undestroyed. 

I knew the truth too well. My older sister had given her life for the rest of us. 

And now she was dead. 

Marguerite.

Chapter Twenty-Six – Leslie

I knew Marguerite very well. I mean, we were best friends even before the Yeerks came. 

But somehow, something inside me told me that we hadn't seen the last of her. 

You can call it whatever you want. Stupidity. Superstition. A ridiculous hope. 

Maybe I was just trying to make myself feel better. I mean, the others were doing a lot worse than I was. 

So I kept hoping in an insane way. 

Jeremy kept acting bright and happy. He refused to accept it. 

Lilith kept crying. It was normal, I guess. 

But Jesse... He was shutting everything out. It was like nothing existed for him. 

I sympathized with him in a way. But it was just, well, infuriating. 

I thought of two lines from a song that Marguerite had sung, once. 

Shall we sing of tears, or mirth? 

Shall we sing of death, or birth? 

Marguerite had laughed at the song, yet believed it. I knew what she'd wanted us to do. She'd have wanted us to sing, as the song put it, sing of mirth. 

We have a sort of saying, on the streets. "Kafr f'r yas'l, ya be stp'dr. Kafr f'r o'rth, ya be hro'n."

Roughly, it translates to, "Die for yourself, you be stupid. Die for others, you be a hero."

And Marguerite did it. She gave up everything for us . . . .

I went to the window, and pushed the shutter up.

I looked out at the stars. The beautiful and deadly stars.

Was she out there, somewhere, on a star?

"So, you did it, Margot, " I said. "You said you'd die to kill the Yeerks, and you did."

I guess I started crying at that point.

"You did it. You won."

At that point, I heard a lovely voice in my head. Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe not. But I know it was Marguerite's voice, imagination or not.

_"Don't cry for me, Leslie. I'm happy, now. And Earth is a better place. It's like I said, when we were little, about dying, gallant."_

Then there was silence.

I laughed. "I guess you were right, Margot. You did give up everything. And you did die gallant."

I sat there, by the window for a while.

My best friend had given the ultimate gift to us; freedom.

And she did it for us.

The Animorphs.

**_To be continued in the next volume, The Exchange. . . ._**

* * *

[A/N: Well? Loved it, hated it, put it on a shrine? Either way, e-mail me at [anifuture@hotmail.com][1], and please, please, please look at my homepage with an updated version of the story at [http://anifuture.hypermart.net][2].]

   [1]: mailto:anifuture@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://anifuture.hypermart.net



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